Life's Lessons

When I met Michael I was 24 years old and he was 30.  We had our entire life ahead of us.  He was a spitting image of Mr. Clean, big gold earring and all.  Michael was a bodybuilder in college and still had his bodybuilder physique when we got married.  He was so strong.  He was known to hoist a couch up on his shoulder and carry it out to a guest's car when he worked at Meijer.

He was truly a picture of health.

3 years into our marriage, our world was turned upside down when Michael was diagnosed with a very rare liver disease, that he would go on to fight for the next 20 years.

He would always say "You are healthy until you are not."

I believe that we all take our health for granted.  I have said recently, that it seems as if we are all going to live until we are 90, with the same health, physical strength, and mental capacity. 

I was certainly one of those people!!  I was healthy until I wasn’t. 

It was 3 years ago this month that I heard those dreadful words "you have cancer!"

I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was in the frozen food aisle of my local grocery store when my doctor called me to deliver the news.  My world stopped and I was numb.  My 1st thought was "Really God!!! Being a widow wasn’t enough? Now I have to have cancer too?" 

My 2nd thought was " How am I going to tell Seth that his only remaining parent now has cancer?"  And my 3rd thought was "I took care of Michael for 20 years until he passed away, who is going to take care of me?"

Here are the lessons that I learned from hearing those words;

Well through all of this, God showed me that I am stronger than I thought I was.   My cancer diagnosis was a gift that allows me to relate to the women that I serve on a much deeper level.

I learned to take it one step at a time with Seth and keep him on a need-to-know basis.  I revealed to him just the information that he needed at the time instead of giving him everything to digest all at once.

The last thing that I  learned is that I will never be alone!!! Was surrounded by my amazing family, my team, and my friends.  I was so well taken care of that I will never have to face that fear of being alone ever again. 

I have learned to lean on the bible verse from Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" 

I want to challenge you to find the lessons in the trials that life gives you!!!  Trust that God has a plan.  Instead of asking "Why?" Ask "What am I supposed to learn from this?"

Those lessons are very important and you don’t want to miss them!!!